US Medical Term · insurance
Deductible
Deducible
What it means
A deductible is the amount you pay for covered health care services before your insurance plan starts to pay. HealthCare.gov, a website of the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, explains that after you pay your deductible, you usually pay only a copayment or coinsurance for covered services, and your insurance company pays the rest. Many plans pay for certain services, like a checkup, before you have met your deductible, and all Marketplace health plans pay the full cost of certain preventive benefits even before you meet it. Some plans have separate deductibles for certain services, like prescription drugs. Family plans often have both an individual deductible and a family deductible. In Original Medicare, the Part A deductible is paid each time a new benefit period starts.
Deductible in Spanish
- Spanish term
- Deducible
- Gender and article
- masculine: el deducible
- Pronunciation
- deh-doo-SEE-bleh
Deducible is the glossary entry on CuidadoDeSalud.gov, a Spanish-language website of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which defines it as el monto que paga por los servicios de atención médica cubiertos antes de que su plan de seguro comience a pagar. As an insurance noun it is masculine: the same entry writes un deducible individual and un deducible familiar, and Medicare's Spanish site writes el deducible de la Parte A. The Real Academia Española dictionary enters deducible as an adjective meaning que puede ser deducido (that can be deducted) and lists the expression gasto deducible.
The verbs CuidadoDeSalud.gov uses with it are pagar and alcanzar: después de pagar su deducible (after you pay your deductible) and antes de que alcance su deducible (before you have met your deductible). Words that appear next to it are copago (copayment), coseguro (coinsurance), primas (premiums) and servicios cubiertos (covered services). On Medicare's Spanish site, a benefit period is a período de beneficios, and Original Medicare is Medicare Original.
Phrases for an appointment
What a patient or a clinician might say, in English and Spanish:
| Who | English | Spanish |
|---|---|---|
| Patient | How much is my deductible this year? | ¿De cuánto es mi deducible este año? |
| Clinician | Your plan has an individual deductible and a family deductible. | Su plan tiene un deducible individual y un deducible familiar. |
| Patient | Have I met my deductible yet? | ¿Ya alcancé mi deducible? |
| Clinician | Your insurance plan can tell you how much of your deductible you have paid so far. | Su plan de seguro puede decirle cuánto ha pagado de su deducible hasta ahora. |
| Patient | After I meet my deductible, how much will I pay for each visit? | Después de alcanzar mi deducible, ¿cuánto voy a pagar por cada consulta? |
| Clinician | After that, you usually pay only a copayment or coinsurance. | Después de eso, por lo general usted paga solo un copago o un coseguro. |
| Patient | Do I have to meet my deductible before the plan pays for this checkup? | ¿Tengo que alcanzar mi deducible antes de que el plan pague esta revisión general? |
| Patient | Is there a separate deductible for prescription drugs? | ¿Hay un deducible aparte para los medicamentos recetados? |
In 9 languages
| Language | Term |
|---|---|
| English | Deductible |
| Spanish (Español) | Deducible |
| Chinese (中文) | 免赔额 |
| Korean (한국어) | 공제액 |
| Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt) | Khoản khấu trừ |
| Filipino (Tagalog) | Deductible |
| Portuguese (Português) | Franquia |
| Thai (ภาษาไทย) | ค่าลดหย่อน |
| Japanese (日本語) | 免責額 |
Where you'll see it
Related terms
Your right to an interpreter in the United States
If English is not your primary language and you have difficulty communicating in English, you may need an interpreter or a translated document when you visit a doctor or dentist, go to the emergency room or pick up a prescription. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights states that two federal laws, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, require programs that receive its funding to provide language access services free of charge.
You can ask when you make the appointment or at the front desk: "I need an interpreter, please." «Necesito un intérprete, por favor.»
More terms: Insurance and billing
All terms in this area: Insurance and billing — Seguro médico y facturación
Related guide
→ US Guide: deductibles copays and out of pocket maxSources
- Deductible - Glossary | HealthCare.gov — Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
- Deducible - Glosario | CuidadoDeSalud.gov — Centros de Servicios de Medicare y Medicaid (CMS)
- Costs | Medicare — Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
- Costos | Medicare — Centros de Servicios de Medicare y Medicaid (CMS)
- deducible — Diccionario de la lengua española — Real Academia Española / ASALE
- Limited English Proficiency (LEP): Your Right to Language Assistance Services — U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights
This page is a language reference. It is not medical advice.
Last reviewed: October 8, 2026